Despite the high winds and fright temperatures, about 1/2 dozen brave members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club took a dip in the Atlantic Ocean at March 14, 2017, just of Stillwell avenue in Coney Island beach in Brooklyn NYC. (Photo by Paul Martinka)

“Burning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self-expression, and radical self-reliance”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A fireball billows up from a 52-foot tall wooden man as it goes up in flames September 2, 2000 during the15th annual Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nevada. Despite high winds, dust storms, and a bit of rain, some 27,000 people camped out on a remote desert playa, or dry lake, for the week-long counter-cultural celebration of art and “radical self-expression”. (Photo by David McNew/Newsmakers)

A resident types a text message on her mobile phone, as she sits on a bench made from a tree, which is a creation by Brazilian artist Hugo Franca at Largo da Batata square in Sao Paulo March 17, 2015. Franca, a designer from Sao Paulo is working with the city to make use of fallen trees to turn them into sculpture furniture to line the city's parks, streets and plazas. Brazil's largest city was slammed by several strong storms this rainy season that brought with them heavy rain, lightning and winds as high as 90 kilometres (55 miles) per hour. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Riot police arrest an anti-government protester in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, October 30, 2014. Thousands of protesters marched on Burkina Faso's presidential palace after burning the parliament building and ransacking state television offices on Thursday, forcing President Blaise Compaore to scrap a plan to extend his 27-year rule. Emergency services said at least three protesters were shot dead and several others wounded by security forces when the crowd tried to storm the home of Compaore's brother. Security forces also fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the presidency in the Ouaga 2000 neighborhood. (Photo by Joe Penney/Reuters)

The rotating updraft base of a supercell thunderstorm, and a rear flank downdraft containing rain and hail, backlit by the setting sun, on May 10, 2014, in Climax, Kansas, United States. To most of us, dark clouds on the horizon usually means rain – but here in Kansas, they can also signal the start of a supercell. The huge formations, also known as rotating thunderstorms, are among the most powerful weather phenomenon found over land. They can occur anywhere where the conditions are right, but are normally found in more arid climates. These awe-inspiring supercells were captured south of Climax city by storm chaser Stephen Locke. (Photo by Stephen Locke/Barcroft Media)

A handout image provided by the New Zealand Defence Force shows aid supplies being unloaded by Fijian soldiers from an Royal New Zealand Airforce C-130 Hercules plane in Suva, Fiji, 23 February 2016. Tool kits, generators, ration packs, water containers and chainsaws make up part of the New Zealand relief following Tropical Cyclone Winston. The death toll from the cyclone that hit Fiji over the weekend climbed to 29, local media reported ON 23 February. Cyclone Winston, the most powerful storm in Fiji's history, battered the country's main island of Viti Levu and other smaller surrounding islands on Saturday, the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation reported. (Photo by Sam Shepherd/EPA/NZ Defence Force)

Second Place Winner: “Thunderstorm at False Kiva”. I hiked out to these ruins at night hoping to photograph them with the Milky Way, but instead a thunderstorm rolled through, creating this dramatic image. – Max Seigal. National Geographic Traveler Director of Photography Dan Westergren, one of this year's judges, shares his thoughts on the second place winner: “This photo combines two different scenes into one: the small kiva in a cliff dwelling and the grand vista of Canyonlands National Park across the valley. I really like the two different color palettes – warm inside and purple outside. This two-for-one scene was caused by the lightning storm outside the dwelling, which lit up the landscape like it was a huge electronic flash. Looking at this picture I can imagine what a wonderful sight it must have been for the ancient people who lived here. It doesn't seem too amazing now in our modern world, but might have been mind-blowing for the prehistoric residents”. Location: Utah. (Photo and caption by Max Seigal/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

A selection of prizewinning images from the Take a View 2016 photography awards. Here: Finding Gold, taken in Wast Water in Cumbria, which won the Great Britain #OMGB “Home of Amazing Moments” award. (Photo by Mark Gilligan/PA Wire)